Tree prop



April 25, 3967 J. FITZGERALD TREE PROP Filed Nov. 12, 1964 INVENTOR JAMES FITZGERALD BY my 4. W,

TTORNEY United States Patent 3,315,411 TREE PROP James Fitzgerald, Ravenna, Ohio, assignor to Republic Steel Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 410,353 4 Claims. (Cl. 47-43) This invention relates to a device for supporting the branches or trunks of trees and is especially useful in connection with banana trees, coconut trees, or the like which bear heavy fruit, the weight of which causes the branches to sag or droop. Also, the invention may be used to advantage for supporting tree branches or trunks which have suifered storm damage.

It has been quite common in the past to employ wooden supports of various types but, in most cases, the wood must be relatively heavy, making it 'ditficult to handle and store. In cases where a lighter wooden prop is used, it is not sufiiciently strong and breaks off substantially at the ground level not only due to deterioration of the .wood but also because of the shifting of eccentric load thereon, or lack of proper anchorage in the soil.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a metal prop pole which, in itself, is substantial and well adapted for the intended purpose, and furthermore may be readily erected and removed from one location to another, while being capable of being conveniently stored when not in use. Such a prop lends itself to the use of light-weight metal for easy handling and durability.

Another object of the invention is to provide a prop combinaiton in the form of a pole and ladder which assists the user in reaching the high location in the tree where the upper end of the pole is to be utilized. This ladder, when applied to the pole, also substantially steadies the entire prop combination during erection, and facilitates the ascent of the user to the desired height to conveniently connect the pole portion of the prop with the branch or tree trunk. A novel feature of the combination is that the ladder is readily detachable from the pole after a branch has been afiixed thereto and then may be used with another pole at a different location.

A further object is to provide a prop combination which may be readily transported with a minimum of expenditure of time and labor, and wherein the pole itself may be provided with an easily assembled plate member to not only facilitate pressing the lower end of the pole into the earth, but also to prevent the pole from being forced deeper into the ground than is desired or necessary.

A further object of the invention is to provide means at the upper end of the pole for supporting either a rope, cable or the like, or a rigid supporting member adapted to engage the trunk or branch of the tree.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the application of the invention in assembled usable form.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the prop assembly shown in FIG. 1, the ladder section being shown in its detached position in dotted lines.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the pole element of the prop illustrating the supporting projections at the upper and lower ends of the pole, the bottom portion having a foot plate assembled therewith.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail side elevation taken on the 3 ,3 15,41 1 Patented Apr. 25, 1967 line 44 of FIG. 3, showing a portion of a plate interlocked with the pole. 7

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4 with the partial plate shown in elevation.

FIG. 6 is a view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of one entire plate such as shown at the lower portion of the pole in FIG. 3.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring first to FIG. 1, it will be observed that the invention comprises a primary support in the form of a pole or post A preferably made of metal suitable for the desired purpose; a plate B; and ladder C.

Each end of the pole A is provided with vertically spaced pairs of laterally extending protuberances or lugs 11 and 22. These lugs may be of any appropriate size or arrangement and are preferably diametrically disposed in each pair as is more particularly shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 7.

The pole A is intended to cooperate with the plate B preferably, but not necessarily, of the general shape shown in FIG. 7, which has a circular opening D provided with diametrically opposed notches 3 arranged to tit over the mating lugs 1 or 2 so that after the notches slip over the lugs, the plate B may be rotated between said spaced pairs of lugs to bring the plate into position to prevent axial movement thereof relative to the pole as shown for example in FIGURE 7.

The plate B thus secured at the lower end of the pole A serves both a foot rest to press the pole into the ground and also serves to prevent the pole from being pressed deeper into the ground by the weight of the branch or by the swaying motion of the tree and branches.

The lugs 1-1, 22 located at the upper end of the pole normally serve as an anchoring location for a flexible tie member T such as a rope, cord, etc. which is disposed in the space between the lugs and wrapped around the branch to be supported. In some situations, a flexible supporting member may not be necessary or required and a rigid member such as plate B could be used. In such a case the size and shape of the plate could be varied to meet the particular requirements.

The prop structure as a whole includes the pole A, plate B, and a ladder designated generally as C. This ladder has side rails 6 and horizontal rungs 7. The lower portions of the side rails 6 are bent at an angle away from the axis of the pole to provide legs 8. The rear side of one or more of the rungs 7 is provided with a channel member 9 to receive and interlock with a related portion of the pole A. Thus, when the pole has been set in the ground it will be seen, from FIGS. 1 and 2, that the ladder may either have the legs 8 forced slightly into the ground or rest on top thereof while the channel members 9 prevent lateral movement as a person climbs the ladder to connect the top of the pole with the desired portion of the tree. The ladder C may be removed from the pole and then reused with other poles at another location.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple and practical form of tree support which is convenient to handle, durable in use, simple in operation, and readily installed at the desired locations.

I claim:

1. A tree prop assembly, comprising, in combination, a pole, means adjacent the lower end of the pole to serve as a foot rest to force the pole into the ground and to limit the depth to which the pole may be inserted in the ground, tree engaging means adjacent the upper end of the pole to embrace a portion of the tree to be supported, and a ladder including side rails adapted to be supported upon the ground and including rungs overlying said pole, and means on said rungs for detachably embracing the 3 pole to prevent lateral movement of the ladder relative thereto.

2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein, said pole includes adjacent pairs of spaced apart lugs on the outer surface thereof adjacent the upper and lower ends thereof, and said first means comprising a plate member having an opening to telescope over the lower end of the pole, means on the plate cooperating with said lugs to secure the plate in position relative to the lower end of the pole, and flexible tie means secured between the spaced apart lugs at the upper end of the pole, said tie means adapted to embrace a portion of the tree to be supported.

3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein, said plate opening has oppositely disposed notches to register with said lu-gs when installing the plate on the pole, whereby, after the plate is located between the spaced lugs and is angularly rotated relative to the axis of the pole, said plate is blocked against longitudinal movement relative to the pole by abutment of that area of the plate disposed between the notches with the spaced lugs.

4. A tree prop assembly, comprising, in combination, a pole, means adjacent the lower end of the pole to serve as a foot rest to force the pole into the ground and to limit the depth to which the pole may be inserted in the ground, tree engaging means adjacent the upper end of the pole to embrace a portion of the tree to be supported, and a ladder including side rails and rungs, the lower ends of the side rails bent at an angle to the axis of the major portion thereof, and means on the rungs for detachably embracing the pole to prevent lateral movement of the ladder relative thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,191,051 2/1940 Uecker et a1 182-115 3,114,557 12/1963 Cabot 248-456 FOREIGN PATENTS 413,626 5/ 1925' Germany. 313,324 5/ 1956 Switzerland.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

R. CARTER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TREE PROP ASSEMBLY, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A POLE, MEANS ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF THE POLE TO SERVE AS A FOOT REST TO FORCE THE POLE INTO THE GROUND AND TO LIMIT THE DEPTH TO WHICH THE POLE MAY BE INSERTED IN THE GROUND, TREE ENGAGING MEANS ADJACENT THE UPPER END OF THE POLE TO EMBRACE A PORTION OF THE TREE TO BE SUPPORTED, AND A LADDER INCLUDING SIDE RAILS ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED, UPON THE GROUND AND INCLUDING RUNGS OVERLYING SAID POLE, AND MEANS ON SAID RUNGS FOR DETACHABLY EMBRACING THE POLE TO PREVENT LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE LADDER RELATIVE THERETO. 